Neoseiulus californicus (McGregor)

Lasioseius marinus Willmann 1952: 146 . (synonymy by Chant, 1959: 79; not synonym, according to Schuster & Pritchard, 1963: 271 and Tixier et al., 2008: 463).

Typhlodromus californicus McGregor, 1954: 89; 1956: 8.

Typhlodromus mungeri .— McGregor, 1954: 92. (synonymy by Athias-Henriot, 1959: 137; Schuster & Pritchard, 1963: 271; McMurtry, 1977: 21; Chant & McMurtry, 2003: 21).

Typhlodromus chilenensis Dosse, 1958: 55 . (synonymy by Athias-Henriot, 1977: 62; El-Banhawy, 1979: 113; McMurtry & Badii, 1989: 399; Chant & McMurtry, 2003: 21; not synonym, according to Gonzalez & Schuster, 1962: 11).

Amblyseius californicus .— Schuster & Pritchard, 1963: 271; McMurtry, 1977: 21; El-Banhawy, 1979: 113; Pickett & Gilstrap, 1984: 126.

Cydnodromus californicus . — Athias-Henriot, 1977: 62.

Neoseiulus californicus .— Moraes et al., 1986: 73; 2004: 109; McMurtry & Badii, 1989: 398; Denmark, et al., 1999: 71; Chant & McMurtry, 2003: 21; Guanilo et al., 2008b: 27; 2008c: 19; Tixier et al., 2008: 455; Papadoulis et al., 2009: 89; Ferragut et al., 2010: 82; Xu et al., 2013: 332.

Amblyseius (Amblyseius) californicus . — Ueckermann & Loots, 1988: 150; Ehara et al., 1994: 126.

Amblyseius (Neoseiulus) californicus .— Ehara & Amano, 1998: 33.

Female (five specimens).

Dorsal shield strongly reticulate; 379 (345–399) long and 178 (173–180) wide, with 17 pairs of setae. Setae j1 24 (23–25), j3 35 (34–37), j4 25 (24–26), j5 26 (25–27), j6 30 (30–31), J2 33 (31–35), J5 14 (14), z2 33 (31–36), z4 34 (32–36), z5 26 (25–26), Z1 33 (31–34), Z4 53 (46–57), Z5 71 (63–77), s4 42 (41–44), S2 42 (40–44), S4 39 (36–41), S5 32 (30–33), r3 26 (23–27), R1 24 (23–26). Dorsal setae smooth, except Z4 and Z5, serrate. Peritreme extending forward to level of j1.

Venter. Sternal shield strongly reticulate, with three pairs of setae and two pairs of lyrifissures. Distances between st1–st1 55 (51–59), st2–st2 62 (60–63), st3–st3 73 (69–75), st4–st4 94 (72–112). Genital shield striate; distance between st5–st5 70 (66–74). Ventrianal shield subpentagonal, reticulate; 127 (120–137) long, 110 (102–117) wide at ZV2 level and 97 (80–105) wide at level of anus; with three pairs of pre-anal setae and a pair of pre-anal pores. Seta JV5 59 (57–60). Ventral setae smooth. Two pairs of metapodal plates.

Spermatheca. Calyx of spermatheca cup-shaped, 12 (11–13) long; atrium distinct.

Gnathosoma. Corniculi slightly convergent distally; basal width of corniculus 5, distance between bases of corniculi 7. Movable cheliceral digit 28 (27–29) long, with three teeth; fixed digit 28 (27–29) long, with 4–5 teeth.

Legs. Macroseta sharp-tipped: St IV 54 (51–56); chaetotaxy of genu II 2, 2/0, 2/0, 1; genu III 1, 2/1, 2/0, 1.

Male (one specimen).

Dorsal shield pattern as in female; 296 long and 175 wide. Setae j1 20, j3 29, j4 21, j5 19, j6 24, J2 28, J5 12, z2 25, z4 29, z5 18, Z1 25, Z4 49, Z5 57, s4 34, S2 35, S4 31, S5 27, r3 21, R1 22. Dorsal setae smooth, except Z4 and Z5, serrate. Peritreme extending to region between j3 and z2.

Venter. Distances between st1–st1 51, st2–st2 58, st3–st3 62, st4–st4 51, st5–st5 44. Ventrianal shield subtriangular, strongly reticulate; 113 long and 178 wide at anterior corners; with three pairs of pre-anal setae and a pair of pre-anal pores. Seta JV5 36.

Gnathosoma. Movable cheliceral digit 22 long, with one tooth; fixed digit 23 long, with three teeth. Shaft of spermatodactyl 18 long.

Legs. Macroseta sharp-tipped: St IV 41; chaetotaxy of genua II and III as in female.

Specimens examined. Two females from common bean leaves, at Senuris, Fayoum governorate, June 2007 (coll. R.I.A. Abo-Shnaf); three females and one male from strawberry leaves, at the Faculty of Agriculture Farm, Cairo University, Giza governorate, June 2012 (coll. R.I.A. Abo-Shnaf); one female from S. nigrum leaves, at Ismailia governorate, June 2007 (coll. A.K. Nasr).

Remarks. Neoseiulus californicus was originally described from the holotype male collected in California, USA. The original description was reasonably detailed, with illustrations, but no measurements; complementary descriptions were listed by Demite et al. (2014). This is the first report of this species from Egypt. Measurements of the specimens collected are close to those provided by Schuster & Pritchard (1963) and Guanilo et al. (2008b). As reported by those authors, the specimens examined in this study have a single macroseta, on basitarsus of leg IV.